Obama, Democrats Report Raising Record-Smashing $181 Million in September

The Obama Campaign and Democrats report raising a whopping $181 million in September - more money than any presidential campaign has ever raised in a single month.

The announcement came this morning on the campaign's twitter account. The sum shatters the previous record of $150 million set by Obama in September 2008. The most raised by Obama so far this cycle had been $114 million in August.

"Some amazing news this morning," @BarackObama posted on Twitter. "1,825,813 people came together to raise $181 million for this campaign in September."

The campaign credited the huge haul to a surge in grassroots donations, noting that more than half a million donors in September were first-time contributors to Obama.

Democrats' donor roll is now closing in on 4 million unique names in 2012, far surpassing the 3 million total during the campaign four years ago.

Ninety-eight percent of all donations in September were $250 or less with an average contribution of $53, the campaign said.

In an email to supporters, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina called the numbers "big, big news," crediting the influx of cash with propelling their ground game in key states.

"In September, we opened our 100th field office in Ohio - and in Florida, too," Messina writes. "This week, our team registered 10,000 voters in Florida. In one day."